“Do you want to talk about it?” She laid a hand on his knee.
A flare of awareness raced over his body. Sucking in a breath, he rubbed a hand across his face as if it would erase his response to her touch. For the first time since Diane died, a woman had thawed a small spot of his heart, and he wanted to risk it all again. Everything. Put himself out there and connect with Megan to see where their interest in each other could go.
He lowered his hand and caught her expression. He couldn’t decipher her watchful gaze, and it splashed him with a cold dose of reality.
The woman sitting across from him wasn’t the Megan he’d once known. The woman who’d gazed at him with adoration and affection. This Megan was wary and on edge. A Megan who hadn’t forgiven him.
Sure, she needed him right now. And he would be there for her this time, to do what he could to compensate for how he’d hurt her before, but that was all he would do.
“What time does Dr. Browne usually round?” he asked.
Megan eyed him for a moment then glanced at her watch. “She should be stopping in anytime now.”
“Have you thought any more about where you’ll go if Ella’s discharged?”
“Someplace far away from Fowler.” She pushed up her sleeves and thrust her chest out.
Ah, here she was. The determined Megan he knew. A good thing for sure, but he’d seen her determination blindside her. In this case, it could make her do something dangerous. Maybe unwittingly put herself in Fowler’s path.
Reid couldn’t let her make any rash decisions. “I asked Micha to find a safe place for you, and he’s working on it now.”
“If he doesn’t find one, you could help us disappear, right?” She pressed her lips together.
She wasn’t swayed at all, and Reid didn’t like it. Not one bit. “Define disappear.”
“I don’t know. I’m feeling my way through this. But I’m thinking you could find a house where Ella and I can stay long-term. Somewhere Fowler can’t find us.”
He returned to his seat, facing her. “I could try to arrange something, but is that really what you want?”
“Why not?”
“Say you go away for a while, and Fowler can’t trace you. He’s not going anywhere. The minute you return, he’ll resume his pursuit.”
“Then we won’t come back.”
“And then what?”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “I don’t care, as long as I keep Fowler away from Ella.”
“But what about your family and friends? Ella’s doctor? Your life is here?”
She cleared her throat. “We’ll make a new life.”
He knew she was making a mistake. “A life where you’ll be looking over your shoulder all the time. You can’t let Fowler control you like that. You have to stand up to him.”
“I did that once, remember? I stood up to him, like you said. And now he’s out of jail and not only coming after me but Ella too.” Pressing her lips into a tight, colorless line, she folded her arms, and memories of that conversation so long ago came back to him.
“I know this is scary, but you can’t let a man like Fowler win.”
“I can’t do this again, Reid.” She jumped up, strode to the window, and kept her back to him.
He should stay seated and wait for her to speak, but he hated that she was hurting, and he moved as close to her as he thought she would allow. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I know this is similar to what happened years ago. But you’re not the same person as back then. You’re stronger, and you have a child to think of. You have to do what’s best for Ella in the long run.”
She swiveled, her shoulders curled over her chest. “What’s best for her is getting away from here before Fowler hurts her.”
“Maybe in the short term. But running from her home, from her grandparents, that’s not good for her in the end. Let me help you, Megan. I can protect both of you.”
“Can you?” She stared into his eyes. “I don’t mean to doubt your expertise, but it seems like Fowler has the upper hand here, and no matter how good you are, he’ll get to us.”
